Brock Jardine’s father is a native of Canada, which helps to explain an aspect of the mixed-martial-artist’s resume that stands out: His name.

When his parents went to name the youngest of their three boys – one of five children in the family – his father wanted a Canadian touch. He had been fond of a famous character in Canadian military history, British Maj. Gen. Sir Isaac Brock. In 1812, Brock led forces against Americans in the War of 1812, and he died in battle.

With recent fights, despite a near-miss on “The Ultimate Fighter 13″ and some difficulty in finding opponents, Jardine has added more weight to his own name. Taking 50 total seconds to earn his past two victories, the 26-year-old Utah resident has run his record to 9-1 while leaving his full-time job as a piano mover to concentrate on his career.

Like the rest of his family, Jardine comes from a wrestling background, both at the high school and college levels. He began his MMA interest with post-wrestling practice jiu-jitsu sessions with then-teammate and later WEC champion Jamie Varner at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania.

He won most of his early fights on part-time training before taking the sport more seriously after a win against WEC vet Dave Terrel in November 2009. With his commitment at The Pit Elevated Fight Team in Orem, Utah, Jardine is hoping to soon acquire an opponent for May’s Showdown Fights show in Utah and continue his success with a solid win.

“In the past few years it’s been, ‘OK, it’s time to get really focused,'” Jardine said. “I worked full-time until last year, but I felt like I had a real chance in this, so I needed to commit to it.”

A wrestling focus

Jardine was raised in Front Royal, Va., by a father whose business helped to teach him about hard work. Jardine’s father owned a business called Jack of All Trades (his name is Jack), which provided handyman and home improvement services.

Watching that, and following the example of two older brothers, Jardine learned about commitment and wrestling.

“My parents made us do our chores on Saturday no matter what our friends were doing or how nice it was outside,” he said. “Now that I have a family of my own, I understand why.”

Jardine’s father, uncle and brothers wrestled before him. He started in the sixth grade, and he entered a community that embraced wrestling. By the time he was in high school, the school had raised money for a new wrestling room, because the sport was one of the most successful at the school.

In four years, Jardine became a three-time state qualifier and a state runner-up while compiling 123 victories. His college path took him to three schools, first a small school in Virginia and then Lock Haven in Pennsylvania and finally Utah Valley University.

Even after he left Lock Haven, Jardine kept the interest in MMA he gained from Varner in 2005 while at the school.

“I remember watching ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ with him and then having him help teach us about the sport,” Jardine said. “We did the jiu-jitsu for fun, and none of us really knew what we were doing, so I definitely didn’t know I would be using it later.”

Taking it seriously

When Jardine finished his wrestling career, he reveled in the idea that there was no more training and no more struggling to make weight. After a few months, that wore off.

“Nine months later it was, ‘Man, not competing sucks,'” Jardine said.

Remembering the after-practice jiu-jitsu training sessions at Lock Haven, Jardine entered a few jiu-jitsu tournaments. He joked that he was the stereotypical would-be MMA fighter who talked for months about getting his first fight, but then he made a move and traveled to Wyoming for his debut, a win.

While working and taking care of family, he wasn’t able to continue steady training. He would fight and win, then go a few months without serious training. By the time he was 6-0, a slot opened up to fight Terrel at Throwdown Showdown 5 in Orem.

It was his biggest opportunity yet. After he earned the unanimous decision victory, he considered more commitment to his career.

He was able to stop working the moving job that had split his training between early morning and late at night and get a job at his gym. By the time “TUF 13″ was casting, Jardine was becoming more notable. Despite his being cut during the interview process, the show called him back and said it might need to fill an unexpected opening, which raised his excitement.

“I was like 25 pounds over,” Jardine said, “but for something like that, you’re going to make weight.”

But the day before the cast members left for the show, Jardine learned that while his teammate Ramsey Nijem was going to be part of the cast, he was staying home.

He responded with consecutive wins to run his record to 9-1 while hoping to gain more notable fights in the coming months.

“Tony Ferguson (Jardine’s only loss) said I was his toughest fight, and I think I’m a tough fight for anyone,” he said. “I just want to keep proving it.”

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel is the lead features
writer for MMAjunkie.com. His weekly “Fight Path” column focuses on the
circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter
with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.